


Exploring terrain

by SpawnpointofEmlin



Category: klance - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 00:15:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28644303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpawnpointofEmlin/pseuds/SpawnpointofEmlin
Summary: First time out on dry terrain, need to find assailant
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Kudos: 4





	Exploring terrain

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a mom who has been asked to write fanfic, hopefully I can do justice to this fine field of literature!

Keith, Pidge and Hunk had snuck back to the student dorms that night, and in the chaos they realized with relief that no one had even missed them. They returned to their rooms and fell exhausted on their beds and to sleep. They slipped back into the usual routine the next morning, the best they could that is, while the school officials made several contradictory announcements that reviewed that they were bumbling with trying to decide whether to pretend to the student body that the alien encounter was inconsequential, and to get back to studying balanced while they were also freaking out and arguing with each other about the need to seal off the school from the outside all together. 

That afternoon Pidge found Hunk, and let him know they really needed to check in with Lance. Reluctantly, he went along.

They found Lance in his dorm room at his desk - they popped in and Pidge perched on the side of Lance’s bed, the only other spot to sit in the small room. 

Pidge vocalized with Lance was thinking, and what Hunk was fearing would be said:

“Finding the lion was just the first step! You know we’ll have to go back out there and help Shilo and Keith. We can’t not!”

“Really??” Hunk muttered, “Can’t we just focus on resting up a bit first? And getting some more kitchen-cooked food? Those packet meals that Keith offered were not what I would call appetizing”

“They’re not supposed to be! They’re optimized to make sure you get the right nutrients and calories!” Pidge exclaimed. 

“yeah, that’s part of the adventure, Hunk!” Lance added, grinning. “Altho - I can imagine if you applied your gastronomic skills you could prepare a whole bunch of packaged meals that were actually awesome!”   
That thought caused Lance to pause. “Actually, Hunk - what do you think of that? As a team we need to play to the strengths of our team members, right? And it would be amazing to bring a bunch of delicious food to share with Shilo and Keith. After all, that would help Shilo recover from his travel and injuries also! And poor Keith has been sustaining himself with nothing but those dry tasteless meals since he got booted from the program.” Lance found his mind spontaneously imagining how happy Keith would be to see them bring a big box of prepared meals to his small habitat, it made him feel good. That would show good team work. 

“Do you think you could sneak some extra supplies in the kitchen during your kitchen duties, and use that vacuum seal system they have?” Lance asked

Hunk’s eyes lit up, meal ideas popping into his head already, “That sounds great! Awesome actually!” His favorite pastime, after eating of course, was cooking - and sautéing and baking and simmering - and more - all the ways of preparing food.

Lance went on, “Pidge is right, we need to get back out there to help, there is more exploration needed of the caves, and we need to help. This could be a whole lot bigger than graduating from this school on schedule. Those aliens are no joke. That lion was awfully cool to drive also!” He jumped up in excitement. “I’ve been sketching out some plans for how to explore, and I need to check some of the notes against the evidence that Keith has at his place.” 

They were on communication lock-down to the outside, at least officially, and Lance was starting get worried about what might be happening outside the school compound.

Pidge echoed the concerns, “With this communication lock-down, its not quite as easy to check in with Keith - I can reconfigure my computer system so that we can send and receive signals that are undetectable for both the school and the aliens, that would be a good place to start. And, if we are going to go out for an extended time, I’d better do some collecting on spare parts.” His eyes sparkled as he declared - “I’ve been sequestering various useful pieces in hiding spots around campus just in case, you know! This is my time to pull those all together!” 

“So it’s a plan!” Lance said, “let’s do it! And I think it will be less noticeable if we leave one at a time - I’ll gather my stuff and some supplies and I’ll go right away!” He liked his plan.

“What?!” Said Pidge and Hunk at the same time. 

“What?” Lance asked back, surprised at their surprise. It made sense in his head. He had this strong urge that he needed to get back out there and make sure Keith and Shilo were still ok. They might need him, especially since he was the one that seemed to connect best mentally with the lion. 

“Shouldn’t we get more prepared and then all go?” Pidge said.

“Nah - it’ll be fine - you and Hunk finish up with what you have to do, that is all critical stuff -then you can catch up in a day or two. I just really can’t sit here any longer” Lance said.

“If you’re sure…” Pidge said. “Well, in that case, hang on a sec - “ Pidge turned and opened up his duffle bag and rummaged around. He pulled out a handheld device after a few minutes. “Aha!” He said, holding it up, before stretching out his arm to offer it to Lance. “then take this at least, this is tuned to receive and process the signal mode that I will be setting up in the comm equipment - this was we’ll be able to reach you right away.”

“Thank you!” Lance was relieved that they were ok with his plan, and that Pidge was so prepared. 

“Let’s make sure to each take one of the individual hover riders also, Ok?” Lance added. “That was we have more flexibility in explorations - and if anyone needs help, we can always duo up.” 

Pidge and Hunk nodded, “sounds good” they agreed. They hopped up, and as they headed out the door of the small room, each patted Lance on the arm and said “Good luck and we’ll see you soon!” 

Later that evening, Lance had his bag packed, and snuck out of the dorm to the parking structure. He picked out one of the loaner hover bikes, keyed in a generic visitor code to get the vehicle released from its electronic lock (the code is something he’d copied recently from the University Access Center (UAC) database where he sometimes worked - he’d figured it would come in handy, and if he found that he had to use it, he was sure it would be for a very good reason - ‘Like going out to find Shilo - and Keith’, he thought to himself.)

The hover bike rumbled quietly into action, he hopped on and rode out one of the back delivery entrances, waiting momentarily as he spied through the window the guard who was usually on duty in the small office nodding her sleepy head slightly before returning to her comfortable chin on chest position.

And out into the night. The air was cold and there was a chilly breeze, but he didn’t feel it. He was excited and felt like he had purpose, maybe more purpose than he had ever had before in his life. ‘Or maybe even a previous life -?’ He randomly wondered. The hover bike had a mechanism to smooth out the ride over rough terrain, but it wasn’t perfect, and he felt the bumps and jostles of the craggy rocky surface below him, and he had to focus on the steering to keep on track. He didn’t dare use the headlights, and so he relied upon the infrared night vision the vehicle also had. It wasn’t great for rocky surfaces, so he rode a little higher than usual. 

Several miles away from the school, and around a few steep hills, he paused for a moment, legs dangling on either side of the stationary hover bike. He scanned the horizon, looking for the silhouette of the background hills that matched his memory for the location of Keith’s habitat. ‘There!’ He saw it, and rolled the throttle forward again, gaining momentum as he sped downhill toward his destination.

About 45 minutes later, he was at the front door of the habitat. Only a dim yellow light shown out of the window, the view obscured by the lowered blind. As he parked to the side of the door and turned off the vehicle, he saw a bright light go on inside, and suddenly a blinding light was shining like daylight from above the door. He threw his arm up to block the light from his eyes, and swore loudly, “What the bloody hell!” 

The door flew open and a laser shot fired out, missing him but alarming enough that he threw himself flat on the ground. 

“WAIT!” He yelled again, dust from the ground flying around and getting in his hair and mouth, “Its Lance! I want to help! We have a mission to do!!” 

“Shoot first and ask questions later!” Keith yelled out to him. “Are you sure?” 

Keith came storming out of the doorway, wearing his boots but otherwise only in his pajama shorts, gun raised ready to fire again. He immediately saw Lance laying on the ground in the bright light. He took the few steps over and stood menacingly over Lance, angry beyond belief that Lance would try sneaking up when he knew how much they were under threat of attack from actual enemies. 

“What are you thinking, showing up here unannounced in the middle of the night?! We are in a secluded spot and we need to stay secluded! What is your problem?!” He yelled, still having trouble regulating his frustration even as he realized this was someone who would actually be valuable to have working together on the mission. He felt a sudden twinge of appreciation that Lance had shown up, but was none too pleased about the timing. 

Keith’s shadow had fallen over Lance’s face, partially blocking the brilliant light with darkness. Lance rolled onto his back and opened his eyes carefully/slowly to look up. “Keith, you know I’m supposed to be the sharp-shooter. Better put that thing away before someone gets hurt!” He half-grinned, with amusement in his eyes. He rapidly noticed that Keith was shirtless, but wasn’t sure why that caught his eye.

“Shut up! You do not get to be this annoying!” Keith exclaimed, a little calmer now but very irritated. He noticed how dusty Lance had gotten, including streaks across his face. “I’m glad it’s you and not some ugly alien, anyway.” He waved his arm behind him, and the motion-sensor light went out. They were back in the light of the stars, the moon low on the horizon.

“Sorry to make you bite the dust.” Keith said, and stretched his hand down to help Lance up. Lance willingly took his hand, and quickly was back on his feet. He’d popped up very close to Keith, which did not seem to make Keith uncomfortable, altho it made Lance felt strange. But he didn’t move, since Keith was apparently looking at him for some reason. Keith stared while he inspected his new friend’s face for any cuts or abrasions. As he did this, Keith said matter-of-factly to Lance,   
”You’ve got this regolith dust all over, you are going to need to wash that off carefully so that you don’t get cut. The bits are like shards of glass and they’re charged so it sticks to surfaces like crazy.”   
He reached out and experimentally dusted a bit off of Lance’s cheek, watching as it poofed away sparking a bit in the dim light.   
“Ok, good”, he said, “you didn’t land so hard as to get this imbedded in your skin. Really sucks when that happens. Stay here while I get you a cloth.” He abruptly turned around and headed into the house. 

Lance stood there, slightly uncertain. This wasn’t exactly the entrance he’d expected. But at least he was here. 

Lance took the damp cloth from Keith’s extended hand. “Pat, don’t rub!” Keith said. Lance slowly followed Keith’s instructions, and managed to get most of it off. 

“We don’t usually roll around in the dust here, Lance” Keith said. “Please take off your jacket and pants and hand them in the dry cleaning cupboard just inside the door.” 

“What?!?” Lance said. 

“Yes! They’ll be clean pretty quick, the cleaning cupboard uses electrical field, agitation and a strong vacuum to clean the dust out.” 

They stepped into the habitat, Keith silently opened the cupboard door and pointed to it, sending a sharp look at Lance to make sure he got it.   
“Ok” Lance said, and followed the instructions. The light inside was as dim as it was outslde. Keith took a few steps to the table and sat down. He gestured to Lance to sit also. Lance felt awkward in his striped boxers, but at least he still had a shirt on. 

“There is certainly a lot of work we need to do!” Keith said. “We’re up, might as well talk about it!”

Lance’s mind shifted away from the immediate situation and to the real reason he was there, and his self-consciousness disappeared. 

“Yes!” He exclaimed, “I couldn’t get that lion out of my mind, and the alien threat just is too serious to sit by and wait for someone else to deal with you! You are so far ahead of anyone on this, but that makes you a target too!” 

Lance continued, “Pidge, Hunk and I were worried about you and Shilo. We’ve been building our team work skills, and this feels like a much better reason than to just graduate from university! They’ll be joining in the next few days, but I just had to get here right away!”

Keith was surprised by Lance’s enthusiasm, and his mind raced with the possibilities of carrying out what the mission with a real team like this. But in the more immediate terms, they needed to do a reconnaissance mission to scope out the caves, and what might be in them. This was urgently needed, to make sure they reached the locations before the aliens got there. 

“Its good you’re here, Lance” he said, “because there are so many of the caves we need to inspect! Let’s go out at first light!” 

Lance was thrilled and filled with adrenaline that he would be a part of this mission to actually find a solution to combat the aliens. Much out of character, he didn’t even have a sarcastic remark. “Yes!” 

Filled with thoughts about the next day, Lance readily accepted the blanket and couch that Kieth offered. Both went to sleep with thoughts about overcoming the aliens and triumphing to regain the balance of the universe. 

As the sun was peaking over the first mountain at dawn, Lance awoke. 

“Let’s go!!” His voice burst out louder than he expected. 

“Just give me a minute!” Kieth responded, waking up and wanting to go, but having a few things to do to get ready, and not wanting this to be because of Lance.

“I’ll wait outside!” Lance grabbed his pants and slid them on, and grabbed his jacket too. He noted as an aside that they were very clean, and more comfortable than usual to wear.

They headed out on two hover bike vehicles, with the destination set by Kieth’s map.

The ride was exhilarating, fast, smooth and with purpose. They arrived at the location - “This is it!” Said Keith. Both stopped their vehicles, and set out to exploration on foot. 

After a long time, at least an hour of going different directions - the both found themselves rendezvousing - and also spied a farther away site that looks interesting.

“We need to go there!” Keith exclaimed, and Lance agreed. 

They rode out and explored far and wide, back and forth on the ridge - until they found it was a rocky uneven and unstable edge of a steep cliff. 

Keith yelled, “You have to stay back!”

Lance - not being particularly invested in following rules - rode too close to the edge.

The ground gave way out under Lance’s back wheel.

Lance dives off his bike, and narrowly escapes plunging to his doom. They watch as the bike does plunge down, bouncing off ledges and breaking into bits as it slowly tumbles.

“Well that was close.” Lance says

“Yes.” Keith agrees

They slowly back away from the edge to safer ground. 

“It still looks interesting. “ Keith says.

“Yes.” Lance nods, “We should come back with more equipment, maybe the larger bike - and we can go over the edge in a more controlled way!” He grins widely.

“What?!” Keith's eyebrows suddenly raised as he looked at Lance. “You are crazy, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, maybe - in the meantime - how are we going to return? Maybe you’ll have to walk I guess” Lance laughed - it wasn’t even his bike to return on, but he still enjoyed the joking. 

Also, knowing he was a better pilot, he gave it to Keith to acknowledge maybe he should commandeer.  
Keith is no mood to pass on or acknowledge that Lance is anywhere near his expertise - silently approves the quiet acknowledgment for him to set the guidelines.

The best way to get back is that Keith will need to ride on the back of his own motorbike, holding tight, while Lance drives it - go figure! 

Also - they each privately realize that there is an odd but not unpleasant feeling associated with being so close. 

“We’re not going to make good time if I’m not driving!” Lance exclaims, and grabs the handlebars. Keith jumps on and wraps his arms around Lance,

“This time only, you irritant !” Keith knew there were a million other things he could say to Lance, but in that moment - that is what came to his mind.

Lance’s daredevil driving makes Kieth have to grab tighter around Lance’s waist. Keith yells at him, and Lance just laughs.


End file.
